Meeting on email about Pilgrim nuclear plant email set for Jan. 31

Tuesday

Jan 24, 2017 at 1:31 AMJan 24, 2017 at 1:33 AM

By Christine LegereCape Cod Times

PLYMOUTH – The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public meeting for 6:30 to 9 p.m. next Tuesday in Plymouth to discuss information in an inspector’s email about conditions at the Pilgrim nuclear power plant.

The email, written by a lead federal inspector and sent in December, was released to the public by mistake.

The meeting next week will be held at the Hotel 1620’s Grand Ballroom.

The inspector’s email characterized staff at the Plymouth plant as “overwhelmed.” It also cited weaknesses in the knowledge level of on-site experts and a lack of follow-through on planned corrective actions.

A team of 20 inspectors from around the country recently spent three weeks scouring systems and worker performance at Pilgrim. The inspection was completed a week ago, and the team will issue its findings within 45 days.

“It appears that many staff across the site may not have the standards to know what ‘good’ actually is,” Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspection leader Donald Jackson wrote in the December email.

Jackson will be present at the the meeting next Tuesday to discuss the contents of his email. The public will be given nearly two hours to ask questions of the NRC officials, but people who want to speak must sign up just prior to the meeting.

The NRC warned in its announcement of the meeting that “threatening language will not be tolerated and will be cause for removal by local law enforcement.”

Anyone who repeatedly disrupts the meeting will also be removed. NRC security personnel and local police officers will search briefcases, purses, backpacks and other equipment cases before attendees are allowed to enter the meeting room.

“No weapons will be allowed in the meeting room. Any props should be fairly light (i.e., would not injure a person if thrown or swung with force) and should not contain metal fixtures or sharp edges,” the NRC announcement states.

Although it may sound as though the NRC is expecting trouble, spokesman Neil Sheehan said he could not recall any disruptions ever taking place at meetings concerning Pilgrim.

“The audiences have been well-informed, respectful and focused on learning more about the plant and our oversight of it,” Sheehan said. “That said, we want to ensure the public is aware that behavior that disrupts the meeting will not be tolerated.”

Because of repeated failures of equipment and human error, the NRC has categorized Pilgrim as one of the three worst-performing nuclear plants in the country.

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